James hotchkiss



UNITED STATES JAMES HOTOHKISS, OF SPRINGFIELD,

PATENT OFFICE.

OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND EZRA BUSS, OF SAME PLACE.

BRICK-PRESSiNG MACHINE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 45.563, dated December 20, w64.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that l, JAMES Ho'rci-Iitrss, of Springfield, in the county of Olark and State of Ohio, have invented a new and Improved Brick-Press; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull and eXactdesci-iption thereof, reference bein ghad to the accompanying draw ings, making part of this specification.

Figure l is a plan ot' the press; Fig. 2, a front elevation thereof; Fig. 3, a rear elevation of the same; Fig. 4, a view of the bottom of the mold-wheel; Fig. 5, a section through one of the molds7 with its follower and lid.

Like letters designate corresponding parts in all of the figures.

A suitable strong frame, A, with bottom timbers and upright posts, is constructed of 1 suitable dimensions, substantially as shown. i ln this is mounted a vertical driving shaft or spindle, B, in such, a position as to bring the pressing parts between the central upright posts. lf a lever or sweep i is employed to drive the shaft, it is attached by a couplinghoX, b, on the upper end of the shaft, as repre sented. On this shaft the mold-wheel O is secured, and turns horizontally. In it, at equal distances from the center, are the molds in which the bricks are pressed, a convenient number, four, being represented in the drawings. rlhese molds extend vertically through the mold-wlieel, which is thick enough for the bricks, and to receive the followers j' g h t' below them, by which the pressure is applied underneath, and by which the bricks are lifted out of the molds after pressing. The molds are made of iron or steel, and the whole mold-wheel may be made of iron, it' desired.

Over the molds are lids F G H I, by which the top pressure is applied, or, rather, which receive the pressure from below, through the followers, and act as counter-pressure surfaces,- since they shut down close upon the top of the mold-wheel, and are held immovably there, while the pressure is applied from below. The

- the pressure is applied.

lids, insteadof sliding over the molds and off again, are hinged to a hub projection, L, of the ,mold-wheehor to any suitable part thereof, 1 so as to swing and shut directly or vertically down over the molds, and be raised directly up l from them again.

The followers f g 7L t' are raised and lowerd i in the molds for admitting the impressed l l bricks, and expelling the pressed bricks by stationary cams m a p, which compose a circular track, underneath the mold-wheel, for the followers to rest and slide upon. At the front, opposite to where the pressure is applied to the bricks, there is a sudden descent from the raised portion m, Fig. 2, to the lower portion a, which allows the followers in succession to descend sniiciently to admit the unpressed bricks into the. molds beneath the lids. The. followers run on this low portion (the unpressed bricks being put into the molds while passing over it) till they rca-ch the point where After pressing, the followers ascend an inclined portion, p, Fig. 3 onto the raised portion m., which lifts them up flush with the top of the 1nold-wheel and causes them to entirely expel the pressed bricks. The followers then run on the raised portion m (the bricks being removed in the mean time) till the revolution of the moldwheel is completed.

rlhe lids F Gr H l are raised and lowered for allowing the bricks to be put into and taken from the molds by means of two curved cams or guide plates, M N, which are secured to the frame in a suitable position over the mold-wheels,substantially as shown in the drawings. Pins d d, or their equivalents, project from the outer or movable ends of the lids to bear against these cams and operate the lids. The cani-guide M is situated in such a position and is of suoli a i'orm as to raise or swing the lids up, while passing through that half of the revolution of the mold-wheel, after the pressure is applied to the bricks, as seen at the lid F in the drawings. It brings the lids up into an upright position, so that they will reina-in there till turned down by the posit-ive action of the cam N, as seen at the lid G in the drawings. After the followers descend upon the lower track, a, and the unpressed bricks are placed in the successive molds, the came-guide N is so arranged as to bring the lids down upon the mold-wheel again before reaching the point of pressure, as seen at lid H in the drawings.

The pressure is applied by means of two wheels, P and Q., placed vertically, one above the mold-wl1eel and the other below it. Their axes turn in strong cross'timbers a a of the frame. They are so situated that the molds pass at the point of pressure in the direction of tlu'ir plane of motion, as seen at the lid I, Fig. 3, and so that the upper wheel, I), shall be tangent to the lids, and hold them firmly down upon the mold-wheel at the mo nient when the final pressure is given, while the followers pass from the lower cam-tra ck, n,

upon the periphery of the lower wheel, Q, and

are raised thereby to the summit thereof just at the moment when the iinal pressure is to be made, all substantially as indicated at the points x x, Fig. 3. After the pressure, the followers pass upon the inclined portion p of the cam-track, ard are raised thereby upon the high( st portion, m, as aoove set forth.

The shaft g ofthe lower pressurewbeel, Q, turns in bearing-blocks r r, which slide up and down in the cross timbers e a, that support them. These blocks are adjustable by means of set-screws s s, Fig. 3, so as to vary the pressure and thickness of the bricks at pleasure. There is an annular groove, J, Fig. 4, to allow the pressurewheel Q to ascend above the lower surface of the mold-wheel, if necessary.

With this method of pressing bricks the pressure is produced, while the mold-wheel has a continuous and uniform motion, being applied so as not to retard it or interfere there- With at all, and there is comparatively little friction produced by the pressing, which is by a rolling action. The bricks are put in and taken out during other parts of the revolution of the wheel, thereby making the press uniformly perpetual in its operations.

The operation of the lids F G H I by being' hinged and swinging up and down is the most simple and easy of any in use, and produces better Work, as they do not affect the surface of the bricks at all. It also permits me to produce any surface on the bricks besides a plane surface, which the sliding arrangement of the lids does not allow on the upper surface of the bricks. Besides plane bricks I make bricks Yconcave on both the un- 1' der and upper surfaces, and this arrangement enables me to do it by simply having the mold projections on the upper surface of the follower, as at u, and on the under surface of the lid, as atc in Fig. 5.

What I claim as my invention, and desire t0 secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. Imparting the pressure to the bricks by means of two stationary pressure-wheels, P Q, between which the mold-wheel passes continuously, substantially in the manner herein specified. f

2. Such an arrangement of the pressurewheels P Q that the upper wheel shall simply hold the lids closely and iirmly down upon the mold-wheel, while the active pressure is produced by the lower wheel lifting the followers, substantially as herein set forth.

3. Regulating the pressure and the thickness of the bricks by adjusting the bearingblocks r r of the lover pressure-wheel, Q, as herein described.

4. Hinging the lids F G-H I to the moldwheel, so that they shall swing and shut directly down over the molds, and be raised di rectly up therefrom, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

5. The arrangement ofthe cam-guides M N, in combination with the lids F G H I, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

(i. The construction and arrangement of the cam-tracks m np, in combination with the followers, substantially as herein set forth.

7. rlfhe combination ofthe vertically closing and opening lids F G H I with the forms for imprinting on the lower surfaces thereof, for the purpose herein specified.

Theabovespeciticationofmyimproved brickpressing machine signed by lne this7th day of May, 1864.

JAMES HOTCHKISS.

litnessesz REUBEN MILLER, E. P. H. CAPRON. 

